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22.
April
2013.
UK holiday parks operator Away Resorts opens new resort in Wales
Away Resorts opens new holiday park in Wales
Growing UK holiday park operator adds to its portfolio as expansion strategy steps up a gear
UK holiday parks operator Away Resorts has added to its portfolio with a new holiday park acquisition in Wales, its first park outside of England.
The new park, set in a stunning beachside location, with the mountain ranges of Snowdonia National Park forming the backdrop, is Barmouth Bay Holiday Park in Talybont, Gwynedd, north Wales. It was previously owned by Haulfryn Holidays.
The new addition brings Away Resorts' portfolio of parks to four: the newly-acquired park in Wales, Mill Rythe Holiday Village on Hayling Island, Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park on the Isle of Wight and Tattershall Lakes Country Park in Lincolnshire.
Away Resorts launched back in 2008 with the purchase of Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park on the Isle of Wight. The acquisition of Tattershall Lakes followed in 2009 and Mill Rythe in 2010.
When Away Resorts bought Mill Rythe, it was on the verge of going into administration. Under the management of Away Resorts and a £1 million investment in refurbishment, the fortunes of the park have been turned around and within 20 months, it was awarded TripAdvisor's Certificate of Excellence for consistently achieving four stars in customer reviews.
As is evident from its investments, Away Resorts is passionate about providing great British holidays within affordable budgets and its strategy has paid off with 2012 being a record year as overall bookings across all three parks rose by 17%.
Away Resorts has also just launched its new-look brochure following a rebrand conducted by Gendall Design, who were responsible for the branding and website design of the Eden Project.
Gendall has redesigned Away Resorts' website and introduced a new booking engine that promises to deliver a much-improved user-friendly experience.
Away Resorts' successful booking figures and redesign come on the back of the operator ranking 81st in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list of Britain's fastest growing private businesses after increasing its sales by nearly 300% since its 2008 launch.
The acquisition of Barmouth Bay - its fourth park - is just a sign of things to come, according to Away Resorts managing director Carl Castledine says: "Over the last four years, we have built up a strong brand that has really hit the right note with holidaying Brits.
"The demand for affordable UK holidays, particularly short breaks, is strong as our record bookings for 2012 have shown. Our new branding and website combined with the 2012 top-performing year and our ranking in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 are helping us to make our expansion dreams become a reality.
"Thanks to our financial backers CBPE Capital, we have funds to invest and are on the lookout for new parks to acquire."
Reflecting on the acquisition of Barmouth Bay, Castledine says: "The purchase of this park was a really smooth and painless process. Haulfryn Holidays is a very professional business to deal with.
"Barmouth Bay complements our strategy of providing our existing customer base with a flexible UK holiday offering of four very different types of holidays – lakeside, coastal, entertainment-based and now with Barmouth Bay, a park in a 'off the beaten track location' of outstanding beauty.
"Its breathtaking location and the fact the park has been well maintained by Haulfryn Holidays to a very high standard made the park an irresistible proposition. "We are not planning to make any major adjustments to the park this year. We are keen to see how it fits with our customer base just the way it is.
"Our four distinct parks means we can offer our customers four very different types of affordable holidays, avoiding the chainlike feel of our major competitors.
"Our customers' loyalty is important, and we want to encourage our guests to take multiple holidays with us each year; but we are keen to give them unique and varied experiences at our different parks, although the quality of product, customer service and company ethos will always be of the same, high quality," adds Carl.
www.away-resorts.com
ENDS
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Angie Cronin
Loudbird PR and Communications
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About Away Resorts
- Away Resorts is a private equity-backed UK Holiday Park Operator, with a Head Office in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.
- The management team consists of: Carl Castledine - managing director; Neill Ryder - finance director; Greg Lashley - operations director
- Away Resorts currently operates three holiday parks in the UK: Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park on the Isle of Wight; Tattershall Lakes Country Park in Lincolnshire and Mill Rythe Holiday Village on Hayling Island.
- Whitecliff Bay is its coastal escape; with its own secluded beach.
- Tattershall Lakes is the lakeside retreat with a range of water sports on offer, including cable wakeboarding, and also a golf course and new £1.2 million leisure complex with pool, gym, spa and lakeside outdoor hot tubs.
- Mill Rythe is the operator's entertainments hub, with a full programme of shows and musicals throughout the year appealing to all ages, and featuring West End calibre performers, from an Abba showcase and Champions of Rock show, to the first UK musical theatre production based on the life of Vera Lynn.
About Barmouth Bay Holiday Park
- Barmouth Bay Holiday Park, previously owned by Haulfryn Holidays, is a beach-based park in Talybont, Gwynedd, north Wales.
- It has 250 holiday homes and an indoor swimming pool and is an ideal spot to get out enjoy the great outdoors.
About Haulfryn Holidays
Haulfryn Holidays is a family-run company that owns seven parks in England and Wales including: Edgeley near Guildford, Surrey; Shearbarn near Hastings, Sussex; Finlake and Devon Hills near Torbay, Devon; Praa Sands near Penzance, Cornwall; Bossiney Hay, on the north Cornish coast; and Pen-y-Garth in north Wales.
Haulfryn Holidays is a family-run company that owns seven parks in England and Wales including: Edgeley near Guildford, Surrey; Shearbarn near Hastings, Sussex; Finlake and Devon Hills near Torbay, Devon; Praa Sands near Penzance, Cornwall; Bossiney Hay, on the north Cornish coast; and Pen-y-Garth in north Wales.